


Em's Shiro Birthday Prompts

by Btw Where The Hell Are We (GrumpDerpShipping), GrumpDerpShipping



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, M/M, Multi, Shiro Birthday Week 2020, sort've
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:20:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22868533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrumpDerpShipping/pseuds/Btw%20Where%20The%20Hell%20Are%20We, https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrumpDerpShipping/pseuds/GrumpDerpShipping
Summary: One-shots highlighting what means most to our favorite 7-year-old.Day 1: Galaxy GarrisonDay 2: Black PaladinDay 3: AtlasDay 4:Monsters and ManaDay 5: FamilyDay 6: AUDay 7: Birthday!!
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Allura/Lance/Lotor (Voltron), Curtis/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 33





	1. Galaxy Garrison

Shiro had to physically restrain himself from eagerly tapping his feet on the floor as he sat at his desk. The words on the board were keeping him more awake and alert than the strongest cup of coffee ever could, “Group Flight Test Today!”

A giggle beside him snaps his attention out of his own head as he turned to look at one of his two female teammates. “Someone’s excited about piloting the simulator.” Veronica teased with a smile. Shiro smiled innocently and turned in his seat to face her.

“Maybe, but this is why I came here. I know I wanna be a pilot and now I need to prove that I can.” Even in the oppressive air of, what was essentially, junior military training couldn’t damper Shiro’s mood and his bright smile seemed a bit infectious as Veronica and their engineering partner, Hannah, smiled in return. Although, there was still a set of cold eyes staring him down in annoyance as the fresh cadets filed out, quiet and orderly, towards the simulator.

“Takashi Shirogane, Veronica McClain, and Hannah Parker, you’re next.” their instructor barked. Shiro cringed slightly at the poor pronunciation of his full name. He let them default to his full name for the sake of formality and didn’t speak a word back but my god the elongated vowels hurt his soul. He followed the girls into the simulator as the door shut behind them.

“So this is what they’re designed like?” Hannah asked as she plopped into her chair.

“They said the layout is from a scrapped prototype craft. Parts weren’t working right so it was modified to use as a simulator.” Shiro explained as he adjusted his seat buckles. Veronica responded with a brief “nerd” as she looked over her workspace.

Shiro gripped the controls eagerly as the pre-recorded instructional video played over their monitor. The mission was an extremely basic navigational mission. You need to dock at a base and are in dire need of fuel. You only have about enough to reach the station and any deviations could leave you stranded in space. The comm officer keeps the base notified, the engineer keeps the ship in order and the pilot flies cleanly, efficiently, and avoids any obstacles. Take out the looming threat of a heavily weighted grade and it actually sounded fun.

They all went through the formalities of system checking until the screen changed to view of space, an asteroid belt far off in the distance, unavoidable if they wanted to reach their target in the given time that they had.

“Shiro, should we be flying into that asteroid field this fast?? I mean, I think the whole point of this is that we’re supposed to be careful.” Hannah squeaked as Shiro zoomed towards their goal.

“It looks tough but we can handle it you guys. Is this ship still at safe levels?”

“At this speed? Yes.”

“I’ll get us through, just keep an eye out for any problems. You’re our lifeline Hannah.” The girls felt their pride swell at Shiro’s confident speech and they launched into the asteroid belt. Students looked on in disbelief as Shiro narrowly dodged everything in their path.

“Shiro, one of the thrusters is down. I’m trying a diagnostic reset but in the meantime be careful about how you fly.” Sure enough the ship was starting to careen more to the left even as Shiro kept the controls level.

“Do what you can, we’re almost clear of the belt.” Shiro gripped the control sticks tighter as he narrowly dodged another massive rock. With a stretch upward Veronica snagged the radio above her and hailed the “base” they were supposed to approach.

“We can’t safely maneuver in to dock with a crooked flight path. Hannah, what’s the status?” Shiro asked.

“I’m manually shutting down the other primary thruster and diverting to secondary only. These blow out faster so take us in a bit slower and we should be fine.” Shiro smiled and slowed the ship down, gently gliding into position. The ship jolted a bit as a sign they were securely attached and the simulation abruptly ended.

Shiro stepped out with a wide grin, exchanging high fives with the other students who had already taken their test before turning back around to see their results. They ended with a fraction of their fuel left, no additional damage to the ship, and the fastest time so far, putting them at the very top of the small leaderboard for their class. The class gave a brief applause as the next group was called.

“Next, Adam White, Brian Kulkouski, and Zachery Stone!” Shiro gave them some brief encouraging words as they passed him to enter the simulator. The pilot however, Adam, was almost glaring at him. Shiro only smiled back, undeterred. Maybe he just wasn’t all that excited about the test; it was understandable.

The screens hanging from above the simulator door turned back on after the next team was given their set of instructions, one showed the crew and the other was a second projection of the screen inside. It was the same course but the placement of the asteroids was changed, making it impossible to just attempt to copy Shiro’s risky but efficient flight path.

Adam’s team barely needed a word to each other working as if part of a single hivemind. Adam had noticed a safer path through the asteroids but was still visibly tense. Their randomly generated malfunction was a lost stabilizer. Despite the violent shaking of the simulator, Adam remained laser focused on the goal ahead of them. The clock continued to tick, a few students trying to decide if Adam would beat Shiro’s time or not. The stabilizer issue was fixed and Adam effortlessly glided into the end goal. They had a noticeably larger fuel supply left, no excess damage, and...the fastest time of the day. Only a few seconds shorter than Shiro’s record.

Adam stepped out with a smug look while his teammates exchanged looks of joy and relief that they passed. He took a few wide strides up to Shiro and adjusted his glasses. “How was that, Takashi?” he sneered, clearly wanting to flaunt his superiority like a peacock.

Shiro couldn’t help but feel his cheeks flush. He said his name correctly! “That was really amazing, you guys have been preparing a lot, haven’t you.”

Adam felt his smug look falter at Shiro’s bright, puppy-like smile. “W-Well...give me a real challenge next time, okay?”

Veronica was quick to interject this time. “Dude, what’s your problem? And that’s Shiro to you, everyone calls him that.” she crossed her arms and stared him down until Shiro nudged her aside.

“Hey, it’s okay. You can call me Takashi. I...don’t really mind it from you, Adam”

Adam felt something squirm up his spine as his face visibly flushed. “Oh...uh...okay…”

Veronica and Hannah exchanged a look as Adam continued to linger beside Shiro. “What just happened?” Hannah asked.

“I think Shiro just charmed himself out of a rivalry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the adashi comic by chibibi-chan
> 
> https://chibibi-chan.tumblr.com/post/189983607522/ringing-in-2020-with-some-adashi-origin-story-i


	2. Black Paladin

Shiro opened his eyes with a soft huff, he was still here in this endless expanse of sky. He felt numb, weightless, and had long lost his perception of time. He could perceive when the lion was in use but, again, how long and how often were details that eluded him. Black’s calming presence helped keep him relaxed but that still left him to drift alone, bored at the best of times.

He felt the black paladin enter the cockpit, their mental state sluggish and unfocused. Shiro hesitated to call the one settling into the chair by his own name. It wasn’t him, and he knew that clearly but being attached to the lion his clone was bonded to gave him a deeper understanding than most of how similar they were. He didn’t have an evil scheme up his sleeve, at least not one that he was knowingly participating in. He was genuine, honest, and clearly struggling.

Kuron let out a tired groan as he plopped into the seat, a restless night having pulled him out of bed to the one place he could think to go. The Black Lion taking him back as their paladin had felt more bittersweet than it should have. Hell, escaping from galran capture again felt wrong. Everything felt wrong! He let his head go limp into his palms, his body heavy with fatigue.

Shiro watched him silently, he knew there was something off, but his heart was so genuine that it was difficult to really consider him an enemy, especially seeing him sulking with disheveled hair and a set of thin, wrinkled pajamas.

“Why…” Shiro’s attention turned back to him as he finally spoke. “Why did you take me back? I know something’s wrong, you have to also. Is it...just all in my head?” Kuron frowned and leaned back in the chair. “It can’t be...but if all of this is just in my head why does everything feel like...like this isn’t what’s supposed to happen-!” Kuron bit his lip to get himself to lower his voice, resting his hands on the armrests and gripping at the fabric tightly before opening his mouth again.

“Just give me a straight answer for once… I’ve been so lost and confused ever since I got back. Like hell I can say anything to the others.” He rubbed at his eyes. “I’m not fit to lead them anymore. I know you know that. So why do you keep stringing me along like you don’t.” his voice began to strain and quiver. “Maybe...maybe I was never supposed to be the leader. I’m not exactly stable. All I can do is fake being strong for the sake of other people. You need real strength, not me…”

Shiro felt a growl boiling in his throat as he stared Kuron down. One of the few things he couldn’t stand was self deprecation and seeing it come out of his own mouth only enraged him further.

“STOP IT!” his voice echoed as he shouted out at him. “How can you possibly say that?! So many people admire you! They did everything to get you back! You can’t see all of that and say that you haven’t done anything right!” Shiro couldn’t cry but he felt every burning feeling like he was as he tried to gather his thoughts.

He managed to calm down to an extent and kneeled down to look Kuron in the eyes, even if he couldn’t look back at him. “I’ve seen who you are. You’re not flawless. You struggle and you mess up and sometimes you feel like the universe should just collapse and take you out of it. I know…” Shiro frowned solemnly. “But you’ve done so much even with all your problems. Everyone else in the universe has struggles and so few have been able to inspire hope like you do. It’s taken me a long time to see that.” Shiro placed his hand on Kuron’s, even as it fazed through, Kuron twitched ever so slightly. “Don’t throw our progress backwards okay? Everyone’s counting on you...including yourself.”

Kuron looked up from the floor with a slight jolt. He barely recognized a presence around him before it had vanished from the cockpit. Tears hung loose in his eyes but his chest didn’t feel emotionally heavy. It actually felt oddly light after his quiet fit of venting. He smiled faintly as he stood up from the chair. “Actually Black...I think I’ll be okay. I’m not sure what you did but...thank you…”

Shiro smiled back as he watched Kuron leave and drifted back into the void. “Maybe one day we can meet for real. I’m counting on you, Shiro…”


	3. Atlas

Shiro rubbed at his eyes as he turned away from his monitor, he wouldn’t be surprised if all the artificial light was hurting his vision after this much exposure. “I helped save the universe from multiple evil tyrants and still I end up in the world of bureaucratic paperwork…” he muttered to no one as he shut down his computer.

His spine creaked as he stretched and rose to his feet, tired and slightly unstable as he stumbled away from his desk. His already unbuttoned coat was haphazardly tossed back onto his chair before he slipped through a narrow doorway to his bedroom. After his boots and uncomfortable uniform pants were also unceremoniously dumped onto the floor, Shiro squirmed under his blankets, his prosthetic lazily floating over to his nightstand and shutting off, something he learned to do after waking up with bruises or a dent in his bed frame during his fussier nights.

He sunk into his bedding with a sigh, letting his mind drift off into a haze as he fell asleep. At least, that’s what he was attempting to do. Despite how long he tried to convince the universe that all he wanted was the sweet embrace of a good night's sleep, he opened his eyes again and saw that his bedside clock had barely changed.

Shiro groaned and rolled over, hugging his pillow a bit with his remaining arm. He tried every position he could think of to fall asleep, tangling and wrinkling his bedding in the process.. Another hour in and he sat up with a defeated huff, still holding his pillow close like a beloved teddy bear. “Insomnia, you cruel mistress…” he thought with annoyance.

A faint trill rang through his head, rising up a trail of goosebumps along his spine as he felt another presence in the room. It was cold and foreign but it had a warm familiarity to it. He knew exactly what it was once he had a moment to perceive the other thoughts prodding at his mind.

“Atlas...so you are bonded to me.” he smiled faintly. His prosthetic flickered slightly and Shiro was quick to catch on. “Oh, the crystal Allura gave me, it’s the same one powering you.” A happy chirp faded in at the edges of his mind as a confirmation. Atlas clearly wasn’t as capable of communicating as the lions but it was nice to know the ship could still give him company in an odd sense.

“You’re not the one keeping me up, are you?” Atlas gave him a clear “no” and Shiro let out another tired sigh. Atlas almost seemed to nudge him, encouraging him to vent to them. Shiro sighed and leaned into the nudge in response. “Guess I’ve had a lot on my mind. This war seemed endless at first and now I just...I don’t know what’s going to happen from here.” Atlas almost seemed to nuzzle him affectionately, offering some comfort. Shiro smiled faintly and sat up, leaning against the back wall of his room since there wasn’t exactly a smaller version of Atlas in the room to lean on.

“I dunno, my future seems like such a question mark now. Hell, there were plenty of times where I didn’t think I’d even get this far.” Atlas purred softly in his mind; Shiro smiled, they were proud of him. “It just seems weird to settle into something more...normal after all of this. I don’t really want my high point to come so soon...” He felt Atlas toustle his forelock even though his hair didn’t move at all.

“Well, I guess it won’t exactly be normal if I’m staying with you. Plus it’s not like every part of it can be exciting…” Shiro found himself spacing out for a moment before his thoughts returned. “Maybe...it is best to settle down for a minute...all the..mm lasers ‘n evil warlords its…” he yawned and laid back down on his pillows, “hhh..exhausting…”

Just as Shiro’s eyes began to flutter shut Atlas prodded at his mind with a particular thought that made Shiro’s face flush as he bolted back upright. “Wh-wha?! I don’t-! He’s my communications officer, I can’t-” Atlas’s presence quickly began to leave while Shiro was sputtering. “Hey, come back here, you can’t just go quiet after that!” Shiro whined softly and turned onto his side. Great, now he was thinking about his terrible crush again and he still couldn’t fall asleep!


	4. Family

“Okay so that’s uhh...nine plates then?” Coran trailed off as he counted off on his fingers.

“Yeah, that’s right. Unless the others are planning on plus ones.” Shiro smiled as he wandered his room, video call on his date pad as he balanced it in his left hand.

“Well, Number 5 is bringing one of her projects but I don’t think it’ll be able to eat.” the two men chuckled.

“You’re sure it’s alright to bring someone? The team isn’t exactly close with him.”

Coran waved it off. “Come on Shiro, friend of one paladin is a friend of the others. You have nothing to worry about.”

Shiro smiled softly as Coran attempted to balance the stack of plates and the camera in his arms at the same time. “We’ll be on our way to Altea soon then. Should get there just in time for dinner.” Shiro ended the call and tried not to dwell on the fact that he could have sworn he heard a crash just as the audio cut.

He’d been looking forward to this for weeks, they all had. A brief window of time free of political duties, hard labor, long nights, or diplomatic travels to god know where. A night for old friends to reconnect and enjoy the company. With the oppressive presence of the galra empire off their backs they’d been free to pursue their own paths, saw each other less and less as schedules became clogged and free time became a rarity. Shiro himself had kept this night off limits for meetings for nearly two months.

He looked himself over in the mirror, fingers fussing with his tuft of hair as he straightened his shirt. It was freeing whenever he could dig the casual clothing out of his closet. He grabbed his old, worn out leather jacket off the hanger and slipped it on. It still looked nice but man was it tight now, and his chest constricted a little at the idea of cutting off one of the sleeves to make it look better. He threw the jacket onto his bed and continued to look through his clothes. He finally settled on a thin black vest, the arm holes were thankfully wide enough to accommodate his bulky artificial shoulder. He heard the floor creak behind him as he continued to fuss over his outfit. “What do you think? Too emo?”

A soft laugh blew a puff of warm air against his neck as Curtis wrapped his arms around his shoulders from behind. “You look fine, Takashi. You look better out of that stuffy uniform at least.” Shiro smiled and turned around to face him. Curtis Sumler, the Atlas’s highest ranking communications officer and Shiro’s boyfriend of just three months.

“Ready to head out then?” Shiro asked, planting a soft kiss onto Curtis’s cheek. Curtis smiled and followed his lead, Shiro bringing the old leather jacket along anyways. 

\----------

Lance looked on at the newly built and much more stationary altean castle. It was almost daunting to finally be there. He actually lost track of time just staring up at the building. He snapped out of his daze when he was abruptly hoisted into the air, his legs dangling a good two feet from the ground. “Whoa!”

“Well if you weren’t going to come inside I thought I would come get you myself. I’m shocked you didn’t notice.” Lotor smirked as he kept an iron grip around his waist and Lance’s face flushed with heat.

“L-Lotor! Come on, put me down!” Lance squirmed as the young emperor gave his red cheek a brief nuzzle.

“You’re always so embarrassed. It’s actually quite adora- huh?” Lance squeaked as he was lifted even higher and bent backwards over Lotor’s shoulder, Allura beaming back up at him as she lifted up both of them.

“You were taking too long, darling.” Without a hint of effort she began carrying them back towards the castle. It was so strange but this is really where their relationship had gone after Allura and Lotor reappeared, not long after the lions left all on their own. Lotor finally having time to explain his actions and all of them to properly apologize, left the entire team hesitant but willing to welcome him back.

“Lance, hey!” Hunk grinned as Allura haphazardly swung the two boys around in the castle’s entryway.

“Hunk! Man, it’s been forever” Lotor let him go so Lance could be squeezed to death by someone else and Allura gradually settled him back onto his feet.

“Wow, so you guys really are a thing.” Hunk commented as he let go of Lance.

“Oh yes, polyamory was quite common for alteans.” Coran sauntered into the room. “It’s going well, I hope.”

Lance sighed and leaned back against Lotor’s chest. “Yeah, a lot better than I would’ve expected actually. It sucks you’re both so busy all the time, though.”

“Well that’s why we planned this night.” Allura smiled and pecked his lips as she led the group back inside to wait for the others.

\----------

By the time Shiro landed outside the castle, it was clear everyone had already made it. Keith had called a few minutes earlier to make sure he was still on his way. “You ready, Takashi?” Curtis set a hand on his prosthetic with a comforting squeeze.

“Yeah, I just hope they like you…” Curtis was already climbing out of the ship.

“You worry too much. They seem fun!”

Shiro sighed and followed them out. He stopped as a familiar looking robot hovered up to his face. “Whoa, hey little guy…”

“Shiro, meet Rover 2.0.” Pidge announced as she stepped out to greet them.

“Wow, you finally got him up and running.” Shiro smiled as he sidestepped the small robot to give her a brief hug.

Pidge let out an over dramatic wheeze and pat his back as they stepped inside. “You’re just in time we were just about to eat without you.” The rest of the group was quick to clamor around him as they stepped inside, hugging him and commenting on how long it had been since they’d seen each other in person. Eventually Shiro was able to take a step back beside Curtis to introduce him.

“Hey, you’re the Atlas comm officer. Curtis, right?” Keith commented, leaning against the banister of the main staircase while Kosmo wagged his tail with anticipation for more people to pet him.

“Yeah, that’s me. It’s great to see you guys again. I know we never really got to know each other back then but...” Curtis shrugged and happily took Keith’s outstretched hand for a firm shake.

Shiro let out a sigh and set his hand on the small of Curtis’s back. “So, the reason I invited him was, well, we’ve been spending a lot of time together lately and.. ah…” Shiro rubbed the back of his neck while he tried to find the best way to put this. Curtis beat him to the punch as he leaned into him and gripped his prosthetic again.

“We started dating over the last few months.”

Shiro blushed at Hunk’s loud enthusiastic “Aww!” as the others began to greet Curtis with much more enthusiasm.

“It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Well now I need to know every detail.”

“You guys look so cute together.”

Allura smiled and stepped between them all to quiet them down and get their attention. “We have plenty of time to catch up. But how about we enjoy what Hunk was kind enough to prepare for us before it gets cold.” The group agreed and filed into the dining room, the energy between them light and boisterous.

They prodded each other with questions, the mundane, the curious, and especially the embarrassing. And with a fresh pair of ears to tell stories about their paladin days they were talking late into the night between bites of food.

“Man, I’m so tired…” Hunk stretched with a soft groan as the table was cleared of their dessert plates.

“We have plenty of rooms for you all to stay in for the night. I know you’ll all have a long trip back.” Allura commented as she stifled a yawn herself.

“Mmh, that’s boring. What if we camped out in the ballroom?” Lance interjected.

Pidge scoffed at the idea. “What, like an 8-year-old slumber party?”

“Hey, you’re the only one that’s still a kid, I thought you’d be on board!”

“Slumber party? I’ll admit you’ve piqued my interest.” Lotor cocked an eyebrow.

“C’mon, what do you say, guys??” Hunk looked to Keith, Shiro, and Curtis. Keith also looked to Shiro and Curtis, not really wanting to be involved with deciding.

Curtis nudged Shiro playfully. “Let’s do it Takashi. It sounds fun.”

The guest rooms were stripped of every soft thing the paladins could get their hands on, bringing them out to the wide empty ballroom illuminated by the stars in the night sky. “So this is a common practice?”

“For little kids mostly but, who says we can’t do it too.” Curtis smiled as he helped Allura set up a small nest of sorts for her, Lotor, and Lance. Keith was already half asleep, laying against Kosmo’s fluffy side as he sprawled out on the floor.

“Hey, Keith.”

“mmh” Keith opened his eyes only for a leather jacket to drop right on his face. When he pulled it off Shiro was smiling warmly above him.

“You remember this?”

Keith made a quiet, confused noise as he looked down at the coat. “Wait, you used to wear this back at the Garrison…”

“Yep, turns out it doesn’t fit me anymore. I thought you’d want it.” Keith smiled and quickly tried it on, fit like a fingerless glove that he was still convinced looked cool.

Pidge flopped onto her hill of pillows, burrowing herself inside as she relaxed. “See, isn’t this nice?” Hunk asked as he laid on his stomach. “Now we all get to stay together.”

Keith huffed softly but kept a smile on his face. “You sap…”

“You love it, lone wolf.” Lance retorted as he helped tie Lotor’s hair up for the night.

Shiro sat on his thin blanket mattress and looked over the room, eyes catching every joyous laugh and mumbled quip as they gradually settled down to sleep. Curtis nudged him lightly from his spot beside him. “Whatcha thinking about?” Shiro smiled and leaned down to leave a feather light kiss on his nose.

“It’s nothing, just...I like that you got to meet my family tonight…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kinda tempted to do a prequel to develop Allura Lotor and lance more properly but this week was about Shiro so I tried not to detract from that too much. Just setting up the post s8 world that I'm using for this prompt week.


	5. Monsters and Mana

Meklavar examined the weather-worn flyer again as the group began steering off the dirt path and deep into the foliage. It warned of a dangerous creature that had been infecting the water supply of the local village. "So, what's the plan?"

"Kill the monster, get the reward. Easy peasy." Pike purred softly at the thought of the reward money.

"We're doing this to help the village Pike. Don't get greedy." Shiro scolded.

Valayun leaned over to look at the flyer as well. "The residents told us to watch for decaying plants and a strange odor. Keep on alert." As she spoke a warm, sticky air seemed to settle over the team. Meklavar began to sweat in her heavy armor as the humidity rose, all of it seeming to emanate from a small pond connected to the river that ran through the village.

"Well this is where it's been spotted but I don’t see it…” Block peeked out from the dried out and crumbling bushes, the water just as calm as it’s ever been.

Pike stepped out to examine the water. “Huh, maybe it already left and squirmed into whatever cthulhu pit it crawled out of in the first place?” he turned back to the team with a proud look. “So, we tell the villagers we chased it off and grab a nice night at the inn with the reward money?” The others didn’t move from where they were crouched in the bushes, eyes going wide at the feeling of a slight tremor from the waters below.

Pike’s ears pinned back in fear as a large bubble bobbed to the surface before rising further to hover above the pool, tendrils limply hanging just above the water. The large jellyfish creature screeched in rage as Pike scrambled back behind the bushes. Block clutched his staff tightly and stood up with the others. “Alright, no time for a plan! This thing is gonna kill us!”

Valayun prepared her arrows as they all ducked away from a tentacle that had shot out to strike them. “Well, this thing came out of water, can’t we try to kill it with fire??” Valayun asked as she quickly looked through what she had available in her quiver.

“Bad idea, this place is surrounded by dead, dried out plant life. This whole area is a tinderbox!” Meklavar shouted back, swinging her axe to ward off another tentacle strike.

“Well if fire won’t work, let’s freeze it instead!" Block raised his staff to the sky, quickly drawing a glyph in the air in front of him. The cold blast of air sent goosebumps across their skin and the creature was nearly knocked over as it was coated with ice and its motions stiffened.

"I'll take it down with a poison arrow!" Valayun readied her bow, putting all of her focus into the shot as the acid like mucus covering the creature began to melt the ice. The arrow flew across the pond and straight for the creatures side, but the seemingly squishy exterior ricocheted the arrow on impact, nearly flinging it into Shiro’s head.

“What the heck?!” Pike yelled as the beast cried out again. Shiro reeled back and took a powerful swing at the creature's body, not even a scratch.

"Guys, I don't think we can pierce this thing head on. We need a weak spot." Shiro bit back a yelp as he narrowly missed a sudden burst of electricity off one of the tentacles.

"I can't get a good angle to find one when it keeps trying to electrocute us!" Meklavar called out.

As the team continued to duck and run from the creature's attacks, Pike's ears perked at an odd noise just past the tree line. In a flash, a figure appeared in front of the creature. They could barely comprehend that it was a person before they disappeared again. The creature cried out as it's outer shell destabilized and deflated, leaving its body hanging limply in the air. “What just happened?” Block asked, shuffling back away from the creature.

“That huge bubble was a protective shell. I think we can take it down now!” Mekalvar grinned.

Shiro returned the grin and raised his sword, “Pike, you’re with me. Let’s take it down!” Pike pulled out his short kunai knives and charged the creature with Shiro, their blades piercing the softened translucent outer shell into the amber-colored core. The creature roared as it fell to the ground, weak and scrawny as it was defeated.

“See, I knew we could handle IT-!” Pike screeched as a tentacle wrapped around his bare arm, sending blinding pain through his entire body.

“Pike!” In another flash the strange figure appeared again, detaching the tentacle that had its grip on him with a single swift stab of the sword in their hands. The group looked on in awe of the strange man covered in animal pelts and strange tattoos, a large wolf familiar at his side.

“Thank you.” Valayun’s smile unwavered despite how dangerous the man looked.

Pike whined weakly as Shiro hauled him up into his arms. “Pike are you okay?”

“Those burns look serious, you should get him to a healer.” the man said. Shiro frowned at his assassin friend whining in agony.

“I’m low on mana after that ice spell. We gotta take him into town.”

The man watched as they prepared to leave before Shiro nudged him lightly. “You should come with us. We were sent out to take care of that thing but you really helped us out. You deserve at least a little of the reward money.”

The man quirked an eyebrow and briefly turned to his wolf before responding. “Alright fine, I’m Yorak, I hunt in these woods.”

“Shiro, thank you for saving us.”

“Heh, mostly”

“Shut up…” Pike whined in Yorak’s direction as they carried him back, Valayun running ahead to find the village healer.

By the time they entered the village, Valayun was already returning with the healer, a young (and noticeably attractive) man from the monastery. “Oh dear…” the man looked over Pike’s injury as Shiro looked on at him, his face growing warm. “Come on, I can help him inside.”

“I love you.”

\-----------

“Shiro! Come on!”

“What?”

“You can’t just say that right away. Where’s the intrigue? The romantic tension??” Coran complained loudly over their video call.

Curtis snickered as he looked over his character's stats on his tablet, currently nestled into Shiro’s lap. “Well, his character is blatantly honest. I think that fits.” Curtis smiled up at him.

“You two are ridiculous…” Pidge rolled her eyes.

“Yeah will you stop making goo goo eyes and heal me??”

“Alright, I’m rolling.”


	6. Actor AU

Curtis led out a bleary whine as he looked over at the bedside clock, the shuffling around of his husband waking him up. “Do you really need to go in this early?”

“The sooner they can get it taped the better. Besides, this was the best time for all of us to be there.” Shiro fussed with his clothes before heading for the door. Another whine from the bed made him turn around and plant a brief kiss on Curtis’s head. “I’ll be back later. Go back to sleep.” Curtis did not need instructions to sink back into bed as Shiro grabbed his car keys.

The interview was being filmed at 8, looks like that gave him time to snag breakfast at least. About halfway through his drive he pulled into a chain coffee shop, opting to park to avoid the abysmal looking drive-thru.

“Hey, Shiro!” a voice chirped as he stepped inside. At one of the nearby tables was a young lanky boy, wearing sunglasses despite it barely being past dawn. Of course Jeremy would act like he was undercover and hiding from paparazzi every waking moment, or Lance he should say. After all, he had been the one to suggest going by their character names even off set, even if most were suspicious that he had just struggled remembering their actual names at first.

“Lance, fancy running into you.” Shiro smiled and sauntered over to his booth. “Grabbing breakfast beforehand too?”

“Mmh just a coffee to wake me up… And I’m trying to find a good uber to get me to the building. Can’t let them see what I look like without going through the makeup chair first.” Lance smirked.

Shiro resisted an eyeroll and smiled back. “Hey I’ll drive you over. Just let me get an order first.” Lance grinned adorably as Shiro left to order at the counter. He flew a giant lion on TV but he still couldn’t be bothered to have a driver’s licence. Or maybe he just enjoyed mooching rides off his older co-stars, Shiro was willing to throw the kid a bone regardless.

Shiro scarfed his breakfast sandwich and nudged Lance out the door with a warm smile. Lance slipped into his passenger seat and Shiro plopped a brown paper bag into his lap. Lance peeked into out of curiosity and found another break sandwich inside.

“Eat. I know you skip breakfast all the time.”

“Wow, that whole Space Dad joke is more real than I thought.” Lance mused.

“Shut it; specifically with that food.” Shiro chuckled as he started the car. 

\----------

“There you two are.” Pidge smirked as they approached the small set.

“Well, well, well. It’s been a while, Pigeon.” Lance smirked.

“I see you’re still not old enough to drink.” she smirked as she waggled a bottle of hard cider in his face.

“Oh yeah!” he leaned over her. “Well I can reach the top shelf.”

Pidge narrowed her eyes and took a sip from her bottle. “You better be wearing shin guards kid…” Shiro laughed at their exchange and offered the short woman a brief hug, which she happily accepted.

“Shiro!” Shiro looked up when another young man walked in the door, nervously fiddling with his fingers as he approached.

“Hey Keith,” Shiro waved.

“Wha-? Oh, you guys are still doing that, huh..” he smiled softly. Shiro offered another hug, intentionally being less forward than with the others. Keith smiled sweetly and accepted the offer before passing along to greet the others. It was strange that, despite having a more prolific career in the limelight as a child actor, Keith was still so shy and quiet.

“Well look at that, the gang’s all here.” Allura smirked, Hunk at her side waving at them.

“Ah, the princess has arrived.” Shiro smiled with an over-dramatic bow.

“Yes, hello to my royal court of dumbfucks.” the group burst into laughter as Allura continued the bit, only stopping when Shiro reminded her with complete seriousness that she would need at least try not to curse during the interview. 

\------------

“So, this series has created a very fantastical sci-fi world. Your characters are on track to start a revolution but how do you think you all would actually do in a world like this?”

“Well, I’m sure you know, the sharpshooter would do just fine.” Lance mugged for the camera and Allura lightly punched him.

“Yeah, sure you would, kid.” she smirked.

“Well it seems like if you can hunker down on a smaller planet that you can do pretty alright. It only gets dicey with the galra involved.” Hunk commented.

“What about you Shiro?” Keith asked as he tried not to fuss too much with his hoodie sleeve and make his nerves apparent.

Shiro hummed and leaned back in his chair as he thought about his answer. “Well...honestly? Shiro is so strong and confident as a character, but I don’t think I’d be able to match that. But I know that, if I was faced with an empire like the galra, I might not make it but I would go down swinging. At the very least I would protect what’s important to me… I wouldn’t surrender without a fight.”

“Oh I wonder who that’s directed too~” Pidge teased.

“Shut up…”

“Aw, you’re such a sap.


	7. Happy Birthday!!

Shiro raised an eyebrow as he looked over the bridge of the Atlas. “So  _ everyone _ went on break an hour ago?” Iverson didn’t look up from his console.

“Yep”

“Breaks are thirty minutes long, Iverson.”

“That they are.”

Shiro huffed, blowing air under his little white forelock. “Where is everyone? We have plans to launch today.”

“I guess we just have to wait for them.” Iverson replied, oddly complacent in the mass absence.

Shiro leaned over his console, quickly sinking into boredom and annoyance.

After a few minutes Shiro stood back up and turned on his heel. “I’m going to go look for them.”

“I’m sure they’ll be here any minute.”

“I know, I’m just getting worried…" Shiro left the room with his data tablet in hand, Iverson not even watching him leave. Once the door shut Iverson sent out a call that was quickly received by Lance.

"What's the status on the big guy, Iverson?"

"He just left to sweep the ship. I kept him as long as I could without looking suspicious. He'll probably check the Atlas then go inside to the rest of the base. You better hurry."

"Don't worry about it. We're almost set. See you soon, Iverson." Lance ended the call and quickly turned back around to face Keith and Veronica who were in the middle of hauling a table across the room. "Alright people, crunch time. We gotta be ready for Shiro to come stumbling in any minute.” 

\----------

Shiro sighed as found yet another empty room. He was really starting to worry about where everyone got off to.

“Shiro!!” Shiro jumped as Pidge scrambled down the hallway towards him.

“Pidge?? Hey, what’s wrong?!” he braced himself as she nearly crashed into him.

“Shiro, I just- I need you to come quick. It’s important.” she clutched his sleeve and began to lead him towards the Garrison cafeteria. Shiro nervously rambled off questions as they walked, which Pidge ignored and dodged answering.

“It’s...it’s in here…” Pidge shuffled back behind him in a faux nervousness while Shiro prepared to attack whatever was beyond the duel metal doors. He pushed the door open and was met with an endless expanse of darkness. Pidge skittered behind him and threw on the lights.

“Surprise!”

Shiro visibly flinched as his teammates, co-workers, and friends lept from their places behind decorated tables piled with food and gifts. The large cake on the center table had a large 7 candle on top.

“Guys, what-?” Shiro couldn’t stop himself from smiling as the paladins ushered him farther into the room.

“It’s our first leap year back on Earth. Time was always so weird we never got to celebrate your birthday on the actual day before…” Keith explained as Shiro looked over the charming decorations and thoughtful gifts.

“Wait, why does the cake say seven? I’m twenty-eight.”

“Your birthday comes around once every four years. Ergo you are the youngest spaceship captain ever, at seven.” Hunk explained matter-of-factly. Shiro laughed and sat down at the head of the table.

The evening was raucous and filled with laughter as Shiro was thoroughly given the spoiled treatment he deserved for all his thankless service. As the party began to die down, Curtis approached Shiro, planting a soft kiss on his cheek to take his attention away from his conversation with Allura. “Hey…” Shiro reciprocated the kiss with a smile. “What is it?”

Curtis blushes and fiddled with something behind his back. “I got you a little something else. It’s small but…” Shiro hummed with curiosity as Curtis pulled a small box out into the open.

Others began to watch them with steadily increasing yells as Curtis sunk to one knee, face flushed as he opened the box. The room's cheers were deafening as Shiro stared in shock, his vision starting to blur as he teared up. Curtis abruptly stood back up to comfort him and he was pulled into a tight hug. He never actually got around to asking the question but it looked like he got his answer loud and clear. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday Space Dad!~


End file.
